Hiiii ! Is this tank ok??

hi!! i’ve had my betta for about 6 months now and he seems to be doing great. i’m just curious if my tank it looking ok. i use an
algae brush to clean the sides and vacuum the gravel, but lots of his plants and house seem to be dirty. is the “good” bacteria or should i be doing something different?

 

Hi

Looks a good home for a Betta to me.

The algae on the fake plants and decor can be wiped off. There is good bacteria on them but it won't be lost by wiping with a sterile sponge.

What is your maintenance regime? Water changes weekly, filter sponges rinsed out in old tank water every month or so?

 

Nice set up! You won’t be able to see the “good” bacteria, so if you see stuff growing on your decor it’s most likely algae. Algae is technically helpful because it absorbs nitrates like a plant would, but most people don’t think it looks good. If algae keeps growing in your tank it could mean that you are just leaving the light on for too long (aim for 8 hours or so a day) or it could be that you have high nutrient levels like phosphates/nitrates. As long as you do at least 20% water changes every week you should be fine in that department.

 

Looks nice! Sweet looking betta, too!

And I agree with Aunyua about the lights. If they are on too long, it can cause algae to grow. I had the same issue with hair algae. Bettas like dim light and need some darkness for their so called "sleep cycle" so it's good to have a long period of lights off anyway.

 

I agree with what the other posters mentioned. The algae/bacteria won't harm or really help your fish or anything so if you want to get rid of it, go ahead. Watching how long your tank's light is on is very important as well.
Just a bit of a tip, if you ever notice your betta's fins have rips in them, maybe replace the plastic plants with some silk ones instead. They are much safer for your fish's fins.

 

I agree with what the other posters mentioned. The algae/bacteria won't harm or really help your fish or anything so if you want to get rid of it, go ahead. Watching how long your tank's light is on is very important as well.
Just a bit of a tip, if you ever notice your betta's fins have rips in them, maybe replace the plastic plants with some silk ones instead. They are much safer for your fish's fins.

And if you wanted to replace them with live plants, anubias and java fern are super easy to care for! They are both low light plants and don’t need fertilizer (in my experience). Just make sure you don’t bury them in the gravel, they grow by attaching to things like rocks or wood.

 

Nice set up! You won’t be able to see the “good” bacteria, so if you see stuff growing on your decor it’s most likely algae. Algae is technically helpful because it absorbs nitrates like a plant would, but most people don’t think it looks good. If algae keeps growing in your tank it could mean that you are just leaving the light on for too long (aim for 8 hours or so a day) or it could be that you have high nutrient levels like phosphates/nitrates. As long as you do at least 20% water changes every week you should be fine in that department.

thanks so much!

Looks nice! Sweet looking betta, too!

And I agree with Aunyua about the lights. If they are on too long, it can cause algae to grow. I had the same issue with hair algae. Bettas like dim light and need some darkness for their so called "sleep cycle" so it's good to have a long period of lights off anyway.

I had no idea that the light could make the algae more. Thanks for letting me know

I agree with what the other posters mentioned. The algae/bacteria won't harm or really help your fish or anything so if you want to get rid of it, go ahead. Watching how long your tank's light is on is very important as well.
Just a bit of a tip, if you ever notice your betta's fins have rips in them, maybe replace the plastic plants with some silk ones instead. They are much safer for your fish's fins.

dang i didnt even know that plastic plants could harm their fins! thanks

Hi

Looks a good home for a Betta to me.

The algae on the fake plants and decor can be wiped off. There is good bacteria on them but it won't be lost by wiping with a sterile sponge.

What is your maintenance regime? Water changes weekly, filter sponges rinsed out in old tank water every month or so?

I basically just use a sponge to get the algae off the sides of the tank and then use a vaccum to suck the icky stuff from the bottom. I don't really have a set schedule for this and only do it when the tank looks dirty

And if you wanted to replace them with live plants, anubias and java fern are super easy to care for! They are both low light plants and don’t need fertilizer (in my experience). Just make sure you don’t bury them in the gravel, they grow by attaching to things like rocks or wood.

Awesome! I may have to look into one

 

I soak fake plants in aquarium salt in a bucket then rinse it off - 1x a month when I do big water change and replace the carbon filter cartridge. I also have a kitchen cleaning scrub brush that is for use in fish aquarium clean up that I used to clean their surface.

I have fake plants in some tanks because my snails killed half my plants, lol. serious - ramshorn and mystery snail really did a number on the plants.